UN Women commemorates International Day of the Girl Child
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There are 1.1 billion girls today, a powerful constituency for shaping a sustainable world that’s better for everyone. The theme for this year’s International Day of the Girl Child, on 11 October, “Girls’ Progress = Goals’ Progress: A Global Girl Data Movement”, is a call for action for increased investment for improving data on girls and addressing the issues that are holding them back.
To mark the International Day of the Girl Child, UN Women Deputy Executive Director, Ms. Lakshmi Puri, participated at several events, stressing that the 2030 Agenda’s commitment to “leave no one behind” is about girls who do not have access to equal opportunities as boys. When we invest in a girl, everyone benefits.
UN Women Deputy Executive Director Lakshmi Puri participates at the high-level panel during the official commemoration of International Day of the Girl at UNICEF Hall, New York.
"The lack of data cannot continue to be the reason for a lack of progress for girls. Quality gender data to monitor progress and develop policies is critical to measure achieved progress and also to ensure fulfilling the promise of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Without quality gender data, there is simply no credible path to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals...UN Women’s youth strategy calls for greater collaboration to increase data generation to capture the experience of girls and young women. We believe that it is only through accurate, reliable, transparent and comparable sex-disaggregated data that girls and their realities can become visible, and addressed."—Lakshmi Puri
"During the recently concluded seventy-first session of the United Nations General Assembly, UN Women launched a new public-private partnership to support its flagship programme initiative, 'Making Every Woman and Girl Count'. This five-year programme will invest much-needed resources and expertise, focusing on 12 pathfinder countries, to generate, prioritize and use gender data...Over the next five years, this $65 million-dollar initiative will increase the production of gender-sensitive data and ensure that these data are used to inform policies and promote accountability on gender equality."—Lakshmi Puri
UN Women Deputy Executive Director Lakshmi Puri at “Girls Speak Out” event on International Day of the Girl Child at the ECOSOC Chambers, United Nations Headquarters. Speech»
We need to ensure that the 2030 Agenda delivers for all women and girls, paying special attention to reach those furthest behind first. Every single girl must be supported. Their voice should be heard. They should be granted spaces for participating and making effective contributions in those decisions-making spaces that shape their lives and that of their communities."—Lakshmi Puri
"As we celebrate International Day of the Girl Child today, let us commit to make significant game-changing efforts to guarantee that the promises of the 2030 Agenda start to materialize today and ensure that girls can be girls and that they have the right to live a life free of fear, violence and discrimination."—Lakshmi Puri
Ms. Puri delivers keynote remarks alongside Canadian Minister Pattu Hadju on the theme “No Girl Left Behind: Unlocking Data to Power the Girls’ Rights Movement” at the high-level reception ceremony, hosted by Plan International. Speech>